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Sunday, February 09, 2014

Elaine Howard Ecklund, a Rice University assistant professor of
sociology, polled 1,700 university scientists and found that almost half
considered themselves religious—but they don't want to talk about it
openly.

This is buy Decypher on CARM, but it's quoting from an article on NPR. Not that I see myself as conservative or even intelligent design. But I'm also not in favor of Orwellian nightmares.

Christian Academics Cite Hostility On Campus

One of the hot debates in academia is now reaching the courts. The
question: Do universities discriminate against religious conservatives?
Some professors and students say they do, but it's not an easy charge to
pin down.

When Elaine Howard Ecklund began asking top scientists whether they
believe in God, she got a surprise. Ecklund, an assistant professor at
Rice University and author of the book Science Vs. Religion, polled
1,700 scientists at elite universities. Contrary to the stereotype that
most scientists are atheists, she says, nearly half of them say they are
religious. But when she did follow up interviews, she found they
practice a "closeted faith."

"They just do not want to bring up that they are religious in an
academic discussion. There's somewhat of almost a culture of suppression
surrounding discussions of religion at these kinds of academic
institutions," Ecklund says.

She says the scientists worried that their colleagues would believe they
were politically conservative — or worse, subscribed to the theory of
intelligent design. Ecklund says they all insisted on anonymity.

And it appears that climate may extend beyond science departments. A
poll of 1,200 academics by the Institute for Jewish and Community
Research found that more than half said they have unfavorable feelings
toward evangelical Christians.

Aryeh Weinberg, who co-authored the study, says one reason for this is that there are relatively few evangelicals in academia.

"The question is, why? Do they self-select out, and if they do, why are
they self-selecting out? Are they actually not hired? Are they trying to
get hired but not getting hired? Are they getting hired then being
forced out, not getting tenure?" Weinberg asks.

Randall Balmer, a professor of American religious history at Columbia University and an Episcopal priest, disagrees.

"I haven't encountered that hostility at all," Balmer says. "I've been a
visiting professor at places like Emory and Northwestern and Yale and
Princeton and other places. And I simply have not encountered that sort
of hostility to my claims of faith or my professions of faith."

Mike Adams begs to differ. Adams teaches criminology at the University
of North Carolina at Wilmington. A few years ago, he began writing
strongly worded op-ed pieces expressing conservative views on religious
and political issues. When he applied for promotion to full professor,
his colleagues voted him down. Adams sued. He claimed, among other
things, that he was rejected because of his religious speech.

"I think that the evidence in my case very strongly suggests that I was
being held to a higher standard and there was retaliation for expression
of my First Amendment rights," Adams says.

The university declined to comment, but in its brief it argued that
Adams' teaching record "did not satisfy the standard of distinguished
accomplishment." In March, a federal judge sided with the university.
Adams is appealing.

David French, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal group, says there's an upsurge of these cases.

"The secular public schools are almost becoming, for lack of a better
term, quasi-religious in their outlook and devotion to one particular
worldview and excluding all those who disagree," French says.

French cites the case of an adjunct professor in California who was
dismissed for suggesting that homosexuality might be a choice. A
graduate student was thrown out of a counseling program after she
declined to conduct relationship therapy for gay couples. And recently
the University of Illinois dismissed an adjunct professor for offending
students when discussing the Catholic church's view of homosexuality.
After an outcry, the university reinstated him last week.

'Focused On the Written Record'

Cary Nelson, president of the American Association of University
Professors (A.A.U.P.), agrees that there may be a culture clash at
universities. But he doesn't believe this translates into systematic
discrimination against religious academics.

"I think most tenure decisions at responsible and respectable institutions are focused on the written record," Nelson says.

That record includes: the number of peer-reviewed articles someone has
published, teacher evaluations, and whether someone has worked on
committees. Nelson doesn't believe people are penalized for their
religious views.

"That it happens in some places, I'm sure. It has not been coming to the
A.A.U.P. in the form of cases and complaints," Nelson says..

And because a university doesn't have to give a reason for rejecting a
candidate, it's difficult to tell why, precisely, a scholar considered
unfit for academia.

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